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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Denver Boat Show

Yes, believe it or not, Denver does have an annual boat show. It happens in mid January (yep, when the average water temperature is ICE). Our local sailing school was able to hook us up with free passes, so we attended this year.

If you are looking for a super fast ski boat with a million watt stereo and neon light accents, this is your boat show.

Other than speedy toys, the other focus of the show is related to fishing. Given our biggest bodies of water here are reservoirs, I can't blame them for this focus...Colorado just isn't a place for a large, live aboard yachts.

There were a total of 3 sailboats at the show. One was a J/22 from our Colorado sailing school (and I'm pretty sure we did sail on it during our lessons). The other two were from the one and only sailboat focused "dealership" in the Denver area. Of those, one was a 24 foot or so day sailing boat and the other was a Hobie trimaran.

One interesting thing we saw was an inflatable kayak from Hobie that comes with their mirage drive and even has an optional sail package. I wonder if we'd have enough room on a boat for it.

They have one and two person versions and if they were ocean worthy, might be an economical and fun option to a typical dinghy or for when you need a second option.

There were also a number of antique motor boats that were at the show and were interesting to see. We missed seeing Twiggy the Water-skiing Squirrel but he was there as well.

So, while the show lacked much in the sailing category, and is a completely different type of show than the Annapolis one, it was still worth a visit...especially for free.

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...That's the plan anyway

With no sailing experience and coming from a land-locked state, we intend to give up successful careers and embark on a more minimalistic and lower impact lifestyle living on a sailboat. Come along as we attempt to sail away from the rat race.

About Me

I'm an ex-software engineer living with my wife and two spoiled dogs. I hold a private pilots license and in the past owned a small, single engine aircraft. My wife and I are both PADI certified open water scuba divers.
When we started this sailing adventure, other than being passengers, we had no experience on a sailboat. We've taken sailing lessons through the ASA programs in both Colorado and Florida. In December 2013 we purchased our floating home, a 1999 Leopard 38, and in April of 2015 we sold our house and moved aboard.